Published 6:00 am, Thursday, March 31, 2011

Angles, ratios and sensors -- these are terms one might hear while listening to the "Original Clean Cut Kids" robotics team at San Jacinto Junior High School discuss what they are learning in class. But another vocabulary, one with words like "family" and "patience," show the students also are receiving a lesson in compassion.

The five-person team -- composed of students Claire Lancaster, Samuel Higgins, Joseph Velasco, Dante Hall and Krista Epley -- formed as a part of their seventh grade robotics class to create devices for competitions. As the students brainstormed ideas for an upcoming meet, they looked to team member Hall for inspiration.

Hall, 13, suffered a severe asthma attack in 2007 that cut off the oxygen to his brain and left him in a coma. When he woke up, he was blind and had lost sensation in his fingers. He had to regain the ability to walk and talk.

"Ever since Dante came, we wanted to help him out," Velasco said. As the team looked online for different aids for the visually impaired, they ran across pictures of guide dogs and decided to make a robotic version of a seeing-eye canine.

The ensuing project made of Legos doesn't look much like a dog, other than two eye-like sensors on its "face" and its leash, which team member Epley said is used to keep the robot from pulling if Hall can't keep up.

"At first we used a string, but the dog would get off balance so we got a leash," Epley said.

The "Robodog" also features sound and light sensors, as well as the ability to "bark" to notify users of upcoming obstacles or turns. Team members program the robot from a laptop, which sends instructions to the dog's "brain" through cables. The team's map of the school is marked with routes from Hall's class schedule. About half of the members of the team specialize in engineering and the others focus on programming, though all said they have knowledge of both.

"We all know all the parts," said Lancaster, the team's leader. "When one of us can't think of what to say during competition someone else picks it right up."

The team placed first in the intermediate invention category at the Texas Computer Education Association's area qualifying competition in December. The students will compete at the state meet at Angelo State University on Saturday. Since competing at the qualifying level, the group's story has been picked up by CNN and gained national interest.

"It's definitely been a life-changing experience," Lancaster said. "We're like a family now."

The team and school officials currently are looking into getting their idea patented and said they've received offers from out-of-state parties for funding because of the news story. The robotics program currently receives funding through the Midland Independent School District Education Foundation, teacher Curt Cowdrey said, and has received $11,000 over the past two years for equipment and supplies.

"They're serious about making this a real deal," he said of the Robodog project. The students don't hesitate to meet outside of class to tweak the robot or fix a problem. They hope it can be used in the outside world someday as an alternative to guide dogs, which Hall might not be allowed to receive because of applicant requirements. Guide dog mobility instructor Jamie Massey of Guide Dogs of Texas said recipients of her organization's seeing-eye dogs must be at least 17 years old and go through mobility orientation training. She estimated veterinary appointments, food and other costs to take care of the dogs to be about $100 per month.

"With our robot, you just have to put in a new battery," Lancaster said.

Lancaster said she hopes to be an engineer someday, and Higgins said he would like to be a bomb squad technician.

"If I would have never joined robotics, I wouldn't know what it's like to be an engineer," Velasco said. "It's really cool and I'm glad I took it."

When asked how he felt about being a part of the team, Hall quietly responded, "Different." He then paused and said, "Happy."

When the students bring out a Lego kit to show the pieces they started out with, one of them puts a part in Hall's hand. Hall moves the plastic gear wheel in his hand, counting how many teeth it has.

"Dante can name each part by feel," Epley said. "He lost part of the touch in his fingers -- this is helping him get it back."

Cowdrey said Hall began the school year in art class but the teacher worried he wasn't receiving enough tactile input.

"We wanted to start rebuilding the nervous pathways from his brain to his fingers," Cowdrey said. "To be honest, I didn't know what to expect; we were just hoping he could do something hands-on and work with other kids, but his sensory inputs are improving. The kids respond to him like any other kids, and that's what's really important."

Paraeducator Charlsye Dodson accompanies Hall to all of his classes, and said she has noticed a change in him since he joined the class.

"This has opened him up so much," she said. "He has friends in all of his classes now, and he's really smart so he always has other students asking him questions in other classes."

As one of the students helped Dante find a seat when he grew tired of standing, Dodson commented Hall's teammates have benefitted from getting the chance to know him.

"This has been really good for the kids," she said. "They've learned a lot of compassion and caring."